Occasionally when he was riding his bike, Dan Freedman would find himself on a stretch of road that confounded him. It looked steep, yet he’d fly to the top. Then, when he thought he was cresting it, his legs would still be screaming. Every cyclist outside the flatlands has a story like this—but Freedman isn’t just any cyclist. He’s an MIT physicist who eventually­ concluded that the trouble with his hill wasn’t gravity; it was psychology. The surrounding trees grow at an angle that creates an optical ­illusion that fools his brain into thinking the terrain should be leveling out. “Cyclists talk about power-to-weight ratios,” says Robert Swoap, PhD, a professor of sport psychology at Warren Wilson College, in North Carolina. “But they fail to consider the psychological aspects.” Try these mental tricks to increase your slope savvy.

SET ASIDE FEAR“If you’re afraid of a hill,” says Swoap, “you’re more likely to want to get it over with.” You might wind up attacking it too hard and too early, and wear out too soon.

THINK POSITIVE“Negative thoughts become self-defeating behavior,” says Ileana Sisson, MS, a psychotherapist and cycling coach. Come up with your own version of Jens Voigt’s famous “Shut up, legs!” mantra.

FOCUS ON NOWThe best competitors stay in the moment, Swoap says. They’re not thinking, How am I going to make it to the top? Instead they focus on immediate concerns like, What cadence do I want right now?How is my breathing?Are my shoulders relaxed?

DIVIDE AND CONQUERBreak a climb into manageable chunks, says Kevin Dessart, director of coaching education and athlete development at USA Cycling. Picture crossing each segment off a list as you complete it.

LOOK DOWNHere’s a chance to use a visual illusion to your advantage: Instead of gazing toward the top of a hill, direct your gaze toward the shortest safe distance ahead of your front wheel. “When you look down at the road,” Dessart says, “it seems level.”